The 2008 voter-approved constitutional
amendment put an end to the weddings of gay men and lesbians taking
place in the state after the state Supreme Court legalized such
unions.

“By adopting Proposition 8, the
People of California demonstrated their belief that this matter is
best resolved by the People themselves, not by their courts,”
Charles Cooper, a lawyer for Protect Marriage wrote. “The Equal
Protection Clause does not prohibit the People of California – or
any state – from making this choice. To the contrary, it leaves
them free to do what they are doing – debating this controversial
issue and seeking to resolve it in a way that will best serve their
families, their children and ultimately their society as a whole.”

Protect Marriage is the original
sponsor of Prop 8. The group stepped up to defend the law in court
after California's elected officials refused to do so.

“An animating purpose of marriage is
to increase the likelihood that children will be born and raised in
stable and enduring family units by their own mothers and fathers,”
Cooper argues. “Because relationships between persons of the same
sex do not have the capacity to produce children, they do not
implicate this interest in responsible procreation and childrearing
in the same way.”

The Supreme Court will hear oral
arguments in the case in March and is expected to issue a ruling in
June.